Operation Wartime

Operation Wartime (3 March 2006) was a military operation of the Iraq War carried out by the US Marine Corps against the Kurdistan Islamic Group in Iraqi Kurdistan. The United States was victorious against the Islamist Kurds, although both sides suffered heavy losses.

History
The Kurdistan Islamic Group of Kurdistan was an enemy of the United States and the other occupation forces during the Iraq War, and in 2006 the US Marine Corps dispatched a unit to clear the town of Sinjar of the Islamists. A detachment of marines was dispatched to secure the major highway and the town of Sinjar, while avoiding the nearby minefields. The KIG resisted fiercely, with their marksman Muthanna Yusuf firing on American soldiers as they advanced up the dirt road that led to the town. Aware of the position of the sniper, the marine detachment sent their men to go prone while heading uphill on the road, and the marines eventually neutralized Yusuf and another fighter in the house before securing another abandoned house to the left side of the road. The fighting then spread to the road itself, where the insurgents and Americans met in fierce combat. After the Americans secured the road, they pushed into the town of Sinjar itself, where they met heavy resistance once more. The Americans were victorious against the insurgents despite heavy losses, and Operation Wartime succeeded in liberating Sinjar.